Dismissal in the Netherlands: the routes, the deadlines and what you sign

Through UWV, through the kantonrechter or by settlement agreement: what each route means, which deadlines apply and what it does to your WW benefit.

An employer in the Netherlands cannot simply terminate a permanent contract. In most cases it needs permission from UWV (the employee insurance agency), a decision of the kantonrechter (the sub-district judge who hears employment cases), or your own agreement. The route your employer takes determines what you can do and how long you have to do it.

Two routes, depending on the reason

Through UWV. If the reason is economic (a reorganisation, positions that disappear) or you have been unable to work through illness for more than two years, the employer asks UWV for permission. You get a chance to respond to the request. If UWV grants permission, the employer may give notice.

Through the kantonrechter. For other reasons, such as poor performance, culpable conduct, frequent sickness absence or a damaged working relationship, the employer asks the kantonrechter to dissolve the employment contract. You can file a written defence and are heard at a hearing. A lawyer is not required there, though most people use one.

There are also situations in which no permission is needed, such as dismissal during the probation period and summary dismissal (ontslag op staande voet). In those cases too, you can go to the kantonrechter if you disagree.

Many dismissals go through neither UWV nor the court, but through a vaststellingsovereenkomst (settlement agreement, often "vso"): you and your employer agree that the contract ends, and on what terms. It typically covers the end date, the notice period, payment for untaken holiday, any non-compete clause and a severance payment.

After signing, you have a 14-day cooling-off period (bedenktermijn). Within that period you can revoke the agreement in writing, without giving a reason. If the agreement does not mention the cooling-off period, it is 21 days. Het Juridisch Loket (the free legal advice service) has a template letter for the revocation, in Dutch.

Note that under a settlement agreement you have no statutory right to a transitievergoeding. You can agree a severance payment instead, and ask for at least the amount the transitievergoeding would have been.

The transitievergoeding

If the contract ends at the employer's initiative, through UWV or the kantonrechter, or a fixed-term contract is not renewed, you are generally entitled from your first working day to a transitievergoeding (statutory transition payment): one third of a month's salary per full year of service, plus a proportional amount for the remaining period. Holiday allowance and a fixed year-end bonus count towards the monthly salary. There is a statutory maximum that is adjusted every year; the current figure is on rijksoverheid.nl.

The deadlines

Dutch dismissal law works with short, strict deadlines. According to the Dutch judiciary:

If the employment contract has already ended and you want to challenge the dismissal or claim compensation, your application must reach the kantonrechter within two months of the end of the contract.
If your application is only about the transitievergoeding, you have three months.
You can appeal a decision of the kantonrechter to the court of appeal within three months. A lawyer is required for the appeal.

Once a deadline has passed, the right is in principle lost. The useful moment to get advice is therefore before you sign, or right after the dismissal, not at the end of the notice period.

WW unemployment benefit

After a dismissal you can apply to UWV for WW (unemployment benefit). Two points deserve attention.

First, after a settlement agreement you are usually entitled to WW, provided the agreement states that the initiative came from the employer and that you did nothing wrong. If you were dismissed because you did something that clearly was not allowed, you may be treated as culpably unemployed (verwijtbaar werkloos) and sometimes receive no WW.

Second, WW only starts after your notice period. If a settlement agreement sets a notice period that is too short, UWV uses the notice period that would have applied by law, and you receive no benefit for the first stretch.

What to do now

Keep your employment contract, payslips, the dismissal letter or the proposed settlement agreement and every email about your performance. Do not sign anything on the day; asking for time to think is normal. If you have legal-expenses insurance or belong to a trade union, check whether it covers employment disputes.

This page is general information about how these matters usually work in the Netherlands. It is not legal advice about your own case, and only a lawyer who has read your documents can give you that.